Bunny not eating

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rnmiller

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My 1 year old dwarf bunny Tubby hasn’t been eating his pellets or much of anything for about two weeks. He eats a tiny amount of his hay and fruits/veggies, and he stopped eating his favorite treats.

His behavior has also changed a bit recently and he has been chewing on my carpet and walls a lot more.

I want to take him to the vet but I am a high schooler that lacks the money to do so at the moment. I just got a job but it will probably take a bit to save up enough money. Any advice on how to get him to eat again? What I should do until I can get him to the vet?
 
***He eats timothy meadow hay, oat hay, and DuMOR classic pellets. I give him Kaytee Yo Dips as treats. My mom feeds him a slice of frozen banana at night and throughout the week I give him apple, broccoli, and/or celery to go with his diet. ***
 
I'm afraid that you are going to need to take him to the vet anyways. It sounds like he very likely has a dental problem. Without seeing a vet and getting it corrected, your rabbit will gradually eat less and less, lose weight, develop GI stasis, and could very well end up starving and dying. You will need to find a knowledgeable rabbit vet to take him to. There's a list in the link below, that you can check for a rabbit vet near you.

https://rabbit.org/gastrointestinal-stasis-the-silent-killer-2/
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Teeth
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/dental.html
https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/
In the meantime, try offering a pellet mush, made by soaking the pellets in warm water(needs to be made fresh and not left out for too long or bacteria can grow). Also if he is eating soft veggies fine, I would offer some more of those.

For future reference, yogurt treats are not good to be feeding rabbits. Fresh fruit would be a better alternative, but this should only be fed in limited amounts, as too much sugar in a rabbits diet can upset their digestive microflora, sometimes dangerously so. Best to stick mostly with fresh veggies, properly introduced gradually into the diet.

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/treats.html
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/greens--veggies.html
 
I'm afraid that you are going to need to take him to the vet anyways. It sounds like he very likely has a dental problem. Without seeing a vet and getting it corrected, your rabbit will gradually eat less and less, lose weight, develop GI stasis, and could very well end up starving and dying. You will need to find a knowledgeable rabbit vet to take him to. There's a list in the link below, that you can check for a rabbit vet near you.

https://rabbit.org/gastrointestinal-stasis-the-silent-killer-2/
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Teeth
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/dental.html
https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/
In the meantime, try offering a pellet mush, made by soaking the pellets in warm water(needs to be made fresh and not left out for too long or bacteria can grow). Also if he is eating soft veggies fine, I would offer some more of those.

For future reference, yogurt treats are not good to be feeding rabbits. Fresh fruit would be a better alternative, but this should only be fed in limited amounts, as too much sugar in a rabbits diet can upset their digestive microflora, sometimes dangerously so. Best to stick mostly with fresh veggies, properly introduced gradually into the diet.

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/treats.html
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/greens--veggies.html
Thank you so much for your advice. I will do my best to get him to a vet ASAP!!!
 
My advice for feeding: Hay (unlimited amount, Water (unlimited) and some pelletts 2 times per day (I would say 1 tablespoon, but really depends on the weight of the rabbit).

On cost: How about calling the vet, being honest and tell them that you lack the money, but you will pay it further down the road. It would be important to get him to the vet without much delay.
 
My advice for feeding: Hay (unlimited amount, Water (unlimited) and some pelletts 2 times per day (I would say 1 tablespoon, but really depends on the weight of the rabbit).

On cost: How about calling the vet, being honest and tell them that you lack the money, but you will pay it further down the road. It would be important to get him to the vet without much delay.
Thank you for your advice! I will try doing this.
 
I tried the mushy pellets and it seems to be working! He didn’t eat a lot but the fact that he ate any at all was awesome. I’m going to keep trying to get him to eat more!!

I wanted to ask you around how long I can have the pellet mush out for him to eat before I should replace it. Thank you again for the help.
 
I'd say maybe no more than 4 or 5 hours. Even less than that if the temp is over 80 f.
 

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